I asked a Microsoft spokesperson for more details about the coming rollout. Will it be staggered? How many weeks/months will it take? Will the updates be designated as "important" or "critical"? I was told "“We will have more to share on the delivery of IE9 via WU and WSUS (Windows Server Update Services) in the coming months.”

This isn't the first time Microsoft will be pushing a version of Internet Explorer using Windows Update. Microsoft did the same with IE 8. In IE8's case, on Windows XP and Server 2003, the update as marked as high-priority. On Windows Vista and Server 2008 it was designated as "Important." Users were prompted as to whether they wanted to be asked about installing IE 8 later, to install it immediately or to not install it.

As with IE 8, there is an IE 9 blocking tool, which administrators can apply if they haven't yet adequately tested IE 9 and/or if they don't want their users to have access to it.

"As a matter of fact, of the downloads we’ve seen through Sunday, March 27th, over 90% have come from non-IE9 RC and Beta users. And remember, we report completed downloads – not attempted downloads where a user may hit a download button repeatedly but without fully downloading IE9."

Mary Jo Foley has covered the tech industry for 30 years for a variety of publications, including ZDNet, eWeek and Baseline. She is the author of Microsoft 2.0: How Microsoft plans to stay relevant in the post-Gates era (John Wiley & Sons, 2008). She also is the cohost of the "Windows Weekly" podcast on the TWiT network.
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Disclosure

Freelance journalist/blogger Mary Jo Foley has nothing to disclose. WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get). I do not own Microsoft stock or stock in any of its partners or competitors. I have no business ventures that are sponsored by Microsoft or any of its partners or competitors.